For Maria McKenna, the Hurricane Sandy stories published almost every day since October haven't dulled one bit. They are her life - made even more complicated by breast cancer, a disabled daughter and an ongoing battle with FEMA.

Ms. McKenna received federal assistance after she moved away from her home in Oakwood Beach, where she waded in water up to her nose for nine hours during the hurricane. When she asked FEMA to help her replace her dentures, which she stored in cleaning solution under her bathroom vanity each night, including the night of the storm, FEMA refused.

"Even my toilet bowl came off the ground - just popped off the floor," she explained to a FEMA representative, who felt Ms. McKenna provided insufficient proof that the loss of her dentures was storm-related.

"Be realistic," she shot back. Ms. McKenna has been unable to eat solid foods without the dentures because she suffers from TMJ, a jaw disorder.

Things began to change when representatives from the Theodore A. Atlas Foundation, a local charity group, arrived at Ms. McKenna's temporary apartment in Great Kills to bring her a $2,300 check to cover the cost of new dentures.

The foundation has helped over 50 hurricane victims since October, according to George Tropiano, a member of the foundation board, who conducts damage assessments for Atlas. "What he does is amazing," Tropiano said of Teddy Atlas Jr., the foundation's president.

When Atlas realized Ms. McKenna's struggles went far beyond her missing dentures - her home had no furniture, she was behind on her rent, her car needed repairs after Sandy - he told her to cash the check, and he would pay for her dental care himself.

"We'll be there for her as long as she needs us," Tropiano, the board member, said of Ms. McKenna, who plans to relocate to Orlando, Fl., in August because she feels she cannot afford to live in New York.

Tropiano was there Tuesday morning to escort Ms. McKenna to Dr. Seth Weiner's dentistry in New Springville.

"He couldn't be any more compassionate," Tropiano said. "He's a great dentist."

During the storm, as surge water came up to her nose, Ms. McKenna thought the "water was going to just keep on rising ... and end up where I was going to drown."

Immediately after she thought she would have to start her life over again: "Whatever occurred prior to that day, I feel like just never happened."

Now, she says, she's thankful for the groups who helped her along the way - including local Catholic charities, Project Hospitality and the Jewish Community Center - as well as Congressman Michael Grimm's office and the Red Cross.

"How do you say, 'Thank you' to somebody like that?" she asked. "There's no words."